It has previously been proposed to store or record broad band signals, particularly video signals, by dividing the signals sequentially, cyclically in n groups and to read-in the thus divided signals, in groups, into a memory having n memory circuits. The signals are then read out in time intervals which are longer than the time intervals of the read-in cycle, for subsequent recording in a recording carrier having a plurality of channels.
Systems of this type are used in order to permit recording of broad band signals in comparatively simple and inexpensive apparatus to enable recording of video signals without excessive requirements of equipment. This particularly appropriate for the recording of video signals. U.S. Pat. No. 3,806,640, Furukawa, to which German Published Patent Application DE-AS 22 37 255 corresponds discloses a system and a method to process video signals as described above. The system, as disclosed, uses a known arrangement of four memory circuits. The video signal is divided into four signal groups. The memory circuits then record the four signal groups, each in a separate channel, for subsequent recording in four separate channels.
Known electronic memory circuits have the characteristic that, during recording with a predetermined clock frequency, it is not possible to read out the recorded information at a different clock frequency. This characteristic has the result that the frequency of any video signal portion recorded in a predetermined channel will correspond only to a third of the original frequency of the video signal. Due to the periodically interrupted read-out process, each recording track associated with a predetermined recording channel will have gaps therein which decreases the effective storage density which can be obtained.